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Monday, May 30, 2011

A rambling climbing rose vine covers our neighbours old wooden pergola. Here and there small delicate pink blooms hang over the edges, dangling for all to enjoy. This morning they were dripping raindrops and beauty on those around.
Taken resting my camera on our fence, this flower about 2metres away, inside the neighbour's yard.

With camera lens poking through the algae-crusted wire of our back fence (they have dogs) I'm able to more fully appreciate the colourful beauty of her blossoming zygocactus which hangs from her macadamia tree. A welcome sight on this cool, showery day.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

After church and lunch today I took my camera into our rather ordinary backyard, hoping to find something of interest and I was not disappointed. Fluttering amongst our plumbago bushes were several tiny butterflies which I had never "seen" before. Enjoying the quietness these tiny beauties, I waited for them to rest enough for me to catch some photos. I love the shadow cast by the top butterfly.

Friday, May 27, 2011

We live on a regular house block in town, yet we are delighted to have quite a variety of wild native bird visit, although none more colourful than Rainbow Lorikeets! Sometimes they come quite close, like this one, perching on a chair on our back deck!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

One of the things I love about photography is that I begin to look at the world with fresh eyes, seeing more beauty and amazing details in what can otherwise appear very ordinary. I marvel at God's handiwork which is visible all around me if I but take time to really consider my surrounds, whether it be a sunset, a child's curly hair or even a "weedy" flower.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

One of the greatest organisational challenges of our big driving holiday in March 2010 was finding suitable accommodation for our family of 10 and preferably also for our tall family bus/vehicle. During our three and a half weeks away we drove over 4000km and stayed in 11 different locations.Four sets of family and friends were very brave and hospitable, insisting we sleep in their homes/tents-in-the-yard. We were overwhelmed at their generosity in feeding, preparing room for us to sleep and making us feel at home.This left seven cities/towns to secure accommodation. Let me share with you a little of the amazing self-serve bed and breakfast historic home we stayed in at Ballarat.

One of our children found this house on the internet. We were amazed at the beauty and authenticity of this "B & B" when we saw it online and thought for sure it would have a "no children" policy. However as we scrolled down their webpage (which no longer seems to exist)....it stated clearly "CHILDREN WELCOME". I could hardly believe it! We quickly booked for the two nights we would be in Ballarat.

It was dark and late at the end of a very full and exciting day by the time our GPS finally declared we had arrived! We were all quite eager to explore the house but also rather exhausted. It wasn't until morning that we could fully appreciate the beauty of our new place, particularly the manicured gardens.

With only two nights and one very full day of sightseeing, I wasted no time grabbing my camera to try and capture some of the delights very early in the morning. Above is the front entry, and below, the scene as you enter through the door! Everything seemed of huge proportions, from the ceiling heights to the thickness of the walls. Just around the corner, into the next hallway, you are greeted by the row of hats, my first photo above.

The next three photos are taken in one of the bedrooms.....it was enormous!

Below is a photo of a dresser in another bedroom (and my eldest, trying to stand in the corner out of view as I wander around with camera).

The following two photos are in another huge bedroom which also had a fireplace and the massive cupboard as shown.

Staying in "Cumberland House" was one of THE highlights of our holiday. Delicious food was provided for us to make our own breakfasts and the owners even home-delivered the morning paper.

It would have been lovely to have had more time in Ballarat to enjoy more of this beautiful city (I was secretly hoping to make it to Ballarat Patchwork) and to snap even more photos! We DID manage a very long day at some well known historic tourist sites, I'll share about that another time.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Remember what arthropods are? We have been studying them in our science this week, so what better way to do so than a quick trip or two to a local park. Armed with cameras and eager eyes, we set off.

Red Dragonfly

Golden Orb Web Spider

Praying Mantis

Of greater interest to the children.....feeding the ducks....

This photo taken by one of the children

Admiring the water.....

And searching for tadpoles, little fish and water insects with home made nets.

But their eternal favourite is.......having leaf-boat races down the water cascades!
My guess is they will ask to go back to the park again tomorrow for further "research" instead of working on their written projects!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I'm loving catching glimpses of these as I go about my days. An abundance of glorious colours and prints, washed, ironed and cut into 2 1/4" strips, ready for further cutting.

Today my fabric parcel arrived with the cherry fabric in it. I promptly washed and ironed the cherry print and a few others, ready to be added to my growing collection of cut rectangles and squares.

Ok, so here's a finished "flying goose", made by sewing one square and then the second onto the base rectangle of fabric. I've decided to go with making the geese individually and only partially trimming the excess fabric, just clipping the corner from the middle layer of fabric.

I am finding this gives my "goose" greater stability and also durability while removing excess bulk from the corner where it will later be sewn and joined.

Some geese sitting happily together. I'm looking forward to using a great variety of prints, lots of favourites and sentimental scraps too.

Monday, May 16, 2011

One of the things I love about quilt making is knowing the end product is both useful and beautiful. This quilt is the second I have made, sewn at the beginning of last year as a general use quilt. It came with us on our big holiday last year, and is currently in use as a bed topper on my bed. I just love the joy and satisfaction it gives me to glance at it many times a day as I walk up our hallway.

My first quilt was one of pinwheels and prairie points, made by carefully following a Moda Bakeshop pattern. Being a special gift I took extra time and care as I wanted it to be just right. When it came time to make this one it was so simple and quick by comparison. The idea started with a fat quarter I bought at Big W (discount department store). I went looking for fabrics to use with the fat quarter and found a fruit/pine print at half price in a local fabric shop. The top came together quickly, surrounded by one inch multi-coloured border, then more white.

I enjoyed working out the dimensions and pattern according to the prints I chose. I stippled the white, leaving the prints alone. Straight line quilting around the outer border gave a finish I liked.

The simplicity and contrast of colours and white appeal to me. I still love looking at it every day. It has taken me a while to find a pattern I like for a full size quilt for our bed as I had to be sure I would like it even more than this one. At last I think I've found such a pattern. However this quilt will still be in use elsewhere in our home and will remain special to me.

If you're interested in quilting you can browse hundreds of other quilts and their stories over at the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

For Mother's Day I had requested a few plants.....specifically a pansy for our outside table, a grassy feature plant for the pool area, another native for the front yard and maybe a herb plant to add to our small herb collection....plus a $2 seagrass mat. Below is my "decorated" Mother's Day gift box, which contained extra pansies and also a bag of potting mix to be used for planting all these lovelies out.

I'm delighted with this useful and beautiful gift. Yesterday afternoon I planted all these but one (ran out of potting mix) into their respective locations. Today, and every day, I have the joy of admiring them.

A Little About Me

Hello, I'm Karen. Welcome to my blog! Here I share snippets from our life as a family of ten in rural Australia - everyday happenings, photography, gardening, homeschooling and my love of quilting.
I choose to find beauty, contentment and joy in my everyday life.
Thanks for stopping by.

All images, text and content on this site are my property as blog author. They may not be used without my permission . Feel free to link to my posts, but please give the appropriate credit. If you want to use my images, please email me (address above).